Can Bada Park is part of the network of metropolitan parks managed by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. This plot was a plant nursery belonging to the Bada family in Badalona, on the banks of Torrent de la Font stream.
It is made up of terraces on various levels, recalling agricultural fields located on sloping terrain. The plan for the park takes advantage of the three pre-existing terraces and gives each one a specific use, creating accessible connections by ramps.
There is a large sitting area under the shade of the trees on the upper terrace. A slope full of flowers separates and protects it from Alacant Street, and takes the user away from the city, in a natural area in the middle of the urban fabric.
The second terrace, where the children’s playground is located, is protected by the shade and equipped with benches, and the lower terrace is a large lawn linked to the stream where various activities can take place.
The project’s decisions are guided to achieve optimal water management, by collecting rainwater in the entire park so it can be used for watering the green areas. Also, the nursery’s old well was renovated so that water can be extracted and used for the watering network.
A sustainable drainage system was built to control and manage rainwater, collecting it in gravel ditches and green trenches. These systems give the water a laminar flow, channeling it to the retention biotopes until it evaporates or seeps into the ground. This prevents water from being discharged into the municipal sewage system, and manages it in a self-sufficient way.
The vegetation in the park was grouped into types of plants with the same water requirements, so that irrigation can be scheduled according to each group’s needs and adjust water consumption. Four trees of particular botanical value were identified and preserved.
The park has been designed for minimal paved surfaces: 90 % are soft and natural surfaces, and only 10 % of the park’s surface is impermeable and does not permit water infiltration. The park positively counteracts all the areas around the neighbourhood paved with asphalt or concrete, becoming a new green lung for Badalona.
The project transforms the old plant nursery into a multifunctional park that becomes a bioclimatic space for the city of Badalona, fostering biodiversity and land water management.
